Unlocking Adeline (Skeleton Key) by J.D. Hollyfield, Skeleton Key Read Free Book Online Page A

figured out who I was, they kidnapped me. Bound and gagged me, taking me to a location unknown. I’m not sure how long it took for them to send a ransom note to my father. But I know that they boasted about how rich they were about to become. How they had just stolen the Princess of Wren. My father would pay a fine ransom for my return.” She paused, as if lost in the memory.
    “What happened? Did your dad pay?” I ask, becoming engulfed in her story.
    “Well, the men who took me sure did. The ransom note was delivered by a peasant boy, who was tending to some cattle, just outside the village. He was paid to hand the note directly to my father. When he made it to the castle steps, William was there. Apparently, he was furious with me that I blew off our luncheon. He vowed to stand outside my doors until I returned home, so he could give me a piece of his mind.”
    “Oh, no! So did he know? Did the boy tell him you were kidnapped?”
    Faith chuckles, “Well, when the boy made it to the front steps, he shouted that he had a ransom note for the king; that his daughter was kidnapped. William demanded he see the note, but the boy refused. Said it was to go directly to the king. William ended up paying the boy quite a large sum to obtain the note. But when he read it, that’s when he said his life had become clear. He confessed that his blood turned cold at the thought of anyone touching me in a way that was neither gentle nor willing. He may have tormented me, but it was because he could; I was his. He was so distraught by the way I made him feel, he had turned his unfamiliar emotions into taunting. He never even went to my father. He went to his keep and dressed in his fighting gear. He grabbed his horse from the stables and he set off in search for me.”
    She stops to smile, taking her time to continue. I, on the other hand, am hanging off every word, so I nudge her to continue.
    “Ah yes, sorry. So I had been with my captors for about a day. It wasn’t too painful. They didn’t hurt me, but they hadn’t fed me either. I was terribly thirsty and quite sore from being tied up. It was when night fell again, that I prayed for someone to rescue me. I thought about William. I thought about what he would do or say if I never returned. Would he be happy? Relieved that he was no longer in debt to me? I thought about if he would feel guilty for how he treated me. If he ever felt anything close to love, as I secretly did for him. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something that would help keep my fright at bay, and it was of William. I imagined him kissing me. Finding his lips and pressing mine to his so hard that it almost felt bruising, yet so passionate that it would be more painful for him to release me. It was in that exact moment that the commotion broke me away from my thoughts. I heard screaming and fighting: the sounds of swords clashing and the voices of my captors grunting in severe pain. It was then I saw him. William. He had come to save me. When he finally found and released me from my binds, he took me in his arms and did the one thing that I had been wishing for since we both turned of age. He kissed me. Hard and passionately. When he pulled away, his words were what filled my heart. He told me that his life came to a striking halt when he realized there may have been a chance I would not be in it. He realized that he had wasted so much time fighting his feelings for me, when he could have been showing me what he really ached to do to me. Lying on the cold ground, shivering, and deeply in need of water and warmth, he told me that he loved me. And that he was going to take me home and marry me. He was going to spend the rest of his life guarding me, my heart, and everything I cherish, making sure he never felt as empty as he did when he thought I might have vanished from this world. There ye have it. Fifty years later, and William and I are still as happy as we became that night.”
    I have no idea at what